QuTheatr project seeks to employ, empower LGBTQ+ youth -- QuTheatr, a new performance project aimed at employing and empowering LGBTQ+ youth and young adults in greater Akron, is hosting two workshops this winter to identify participants for the project. The first workshop will take place at The Balch Street Theatre, 220 South Balch St. (Akron), Saturday, Feb. 24, from 2 to … [Read more...]
Ma’Sue reboots performance about urban black male experience
'...Or Does It Explode?' drawn from real stories, appears at Balch Street Theatre Feb. 3 -- While originally created in 2014, the message behind “…Or Does It Explode?” is still as relevant today, with explorations of the urban black male experience, their place in the community, and how self perception oftentimes conflicts with media portrayals and stereotypes. An … [Read more...]
Scottish Theater Company presents ‘Lifeboat,’ about survival, friendship
(Courtesy of Center for Applied Theatre and Active Culture) The Akron-based Center for Applied Theatre and Active Culture (CATAC), in collaboration with The University of Akron's Theater Program, will present three April performances of “Lifeboat” by the Catherine Wheels Company of Scotland. Two public performances of “Lifeboat” are April 13 and 14 at 7:30 p.m. in Daum … [Read more...]
Drama duo offers therapy, creative space for autistic students
Inside the Balch Street Community Center one cold, snowy Saturday morning, a group of children play a game called Flock of Seagulls. Each one takes a turn breaking away to soar on their own and strike a pose, at which time everyone else mimics, sort of like playing Statue. Limbs splay across the worn wooden floor, bodies leap, crouch, stand on one leg, twist - the poses are … [Read more...]
‘Trail Magic’ explores life of extreme hiker, trail pioneer (Article and Video)
Wandering Aesthetics hits the Appalachian Trail for biographical performance -In 1955, Emma Gatewood grabbed an army blanket, raincoat, plastic shower curtain and a pair of Keds, and became the first woman to hike the 2,000-mile Appalachian Trail when she was 67. The mother of 11 and grandmother of 24 was a farmer’s wife who lived in an abusive marriage, and she started … [Read more...]
Ma’ Sue production explores black male urban experience
". . .Or Does It Explode?" provides poetic, thought-provoking and frequently confrontational language in its journey though the psychic and social conditions and contradictions of the contemporary black urban male experience. Directed by John Dayo Aliya, this show includes dramatic vignettes using music, poetry and traditional theatrical forms. The play relays stories … [Read more...]
New World Performance Lab challenges gender roles in Woolf’s ‘Orlando’ (Article and Video)
Nestled in the cozy Balch Street Theatre of the Balch Street Community Center, New World Performance Lab is rehearsing for its upcoming performance of “Orlando.” Adapted for the stage by award-winning playwright Sarah Ruhl, the play is based on Virginia Woolf’s 1928 novel“Orlando: A Biography.” Performances of Orlando will begin Aug. 6 and run during the upcoming Gay Games – … [Read more...]
Theatre company creates new world in Akron
Plastic covered the room. Two rows of seats were placed neatly in front of a slanted platform of a painted Poland map, while crates and chairs formed a car seating arrangement on top of the platform. The lights dimmed at the Balch Street Theatre on June 23 as a cast of six, dressed in modern day rags, paraded out in front of the small audience to present the play, "A Couple of … [Read more...]
